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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29316033">Grayscale</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kahnah/pseuds/Kahnah'>Kahnah</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bc I'm a sucker for that, Canon-Typical Violence, Dead by Daylight au, Found Family, Gavin is a child in this, Gen, scary things, some horror, this is a rework of an old story but I took out the trash</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:21:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,370</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29316033</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kahnah/pseuds/Kahnah</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Locked inside an abandoned Asylum and hunted by a dead nurse, Geoff didn't think it could come any worse. That was until he stumbled over a little boy trapped alongside him.<br/>Now he has to protect both of their lives.</p><p>Dead By Daylight AU</p><p>[Rework of an old story!]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm in the process of scrubbing some of my old stories and stumbled over this old story. It's one of my favorite stories I wrote and I was quite upset to have it tainted - so I reworked the entire thing out of spite!</p><p>Hope you guys like it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Grayscale</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chapter 1</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin was running.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was running as fast and as far as his short legs could carry him. He didn’t know where he was running to or what exactly from, nor did he know what had happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had been on the way home from school when some classmates had dared him to go through the forest. It was a shorter route, but his mom always told him not to go through the woods. They were dark and deep and apparently there was an abandoned building deep inside, where bad people lingered. It had a complicated name, one he had already forgotten, but he had never even reached it. No, after he had stepped through the treeline everything was… blurry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could remember quaking in his shorts because all those horror stories came to his mind but he couldn’t just turn around, could he? No way, his friends would laugh at him and call him names, so he had marched on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had been just after school on a sunny day but now it was dark and he was cold. He had woken up by a campfire and looking at the bright flames had hurt his eyes. There was no one around, just trees as far as he could see. He had been alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least at first.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There had been a noise, like the cawing of a large bird and it had scared him half to death. Something white had flashed by in the corner of his eye and he had started to run.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was running for quite a while now, way longer than he had to at school. His lungs felt like they were filled with ice with each of his gasps and his sides ached something fierce but he couldn't stop. No, every instinct in him screamed that he had to continue running, that whatever was after him was still there. He could hear it, not because of crunching leaves or breaking sticks but that strange cawing noise, that sounded more and more like a scream, like laughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had to be one of those bad people his mom had warned him about and he didn’t know what they wanted from him but he just wanted to go home. Home to his mom, into the warm house. He would even clean the dishes and do his homework!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything, if he could only find the way out of this forest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At some point, things around him changed. The trees weren’t as dense anymore but gave away to ruins. Brittle, gray walls that had to be some kind of building before. In the distance, he could even make out some flickering lights.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe he could find help there, maybe that’s where his mom was already waiting for him!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that he got that far.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Honestly, it was a surprise that it took him this long but his shoe got caught on something, a stone or branch, and he hit the ground. It hurt. The ground was littered with trash, old bricks, and glass and for a moment Gavin just sat there. He should get up, run towards those lights but he just couldn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His knee hurt where he had fallen, the skin broken and bleeding and with gravel still sticking in it. Even though he was gasping, it didn’t feel like any of the air was reaching his lungs. He was exhausted beyond belief and all the scary noises still following him couldn’t change a thing about that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tears started to fill his eyes and he let them. He didn’t know where he was, where he had disappeared to and why it was so dangerous here. All he wanted was to go home, to his mom, and be safe!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arms wrapped around him and he couldn’t even scream before a hand pressed against his mouth. He tried to fight, he really did but he was small and tired and scared and they were just too strong as they pulled him into the bushes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tears ran hot over Gavin’s cheeks, over the hands shutting him up. He thought about every ghost story he had ever heard, over every child that had gone missing and he realized that he would become one of them now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What had he done wrong?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why him? Had he done something bad? Something that made him deserve this?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know, he just wanted to wake up in his room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sobbing, it came out muffled and a voice next to his ear tried to shush him down. If anything it only terrified him further and he tried to fight against the grasp but it was of no use.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He would die. Oh God, they would hurt him and throw him away and he would die and never go back home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whoever held him went rigid behind him and now even squeezed his nose shut. It was terrifying, not being able to breathe but then Gavin fell silent. He wouldn’t be able to fight that instinct even if he’d tried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cawing sound was right next to them and suddenly a lady appeared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was tall, clad in a uniform that maybe had been white before but now was covered in stains. Something was off, she looked a bit strange, and it took him a while to realize that she had a bag over her head and her head… her head was strangely crooked. Like she was trying to hear something right above her without looking at it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe that was what made his heart pound so fast. It nearly hurt and he could tell that whoever was behind him, had the same problem. He could feel their heartbeat against his left shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lady looked around and did so with a certain grace that was off-putting. He couldn’t quite tell why but not once did he think he should reach out, make a noise to bring her to look at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wouldn’t help him, oh no.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t here to help.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then she vanished with the same high pitched scream as he had heard so many times since coming here. Like a ghost, like something otherworldly, and now that he thought about that, he couldn’t help but stare at the place she had just left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was in a ghost story.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>New tears found their way down his cheeks and he realized he still couldn’t breathe. Struggling, he tore at the hand on his face and at least freed his nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna let you go,” a voice whispered in his ear. “But you gotta promise me to be really, really quiet. We don’t want her to come back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded because he certainly didn’t want that and slowly, slowly that hand left his face. Instantly, he took a deep breath and turned around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Behind him sat a man, finger in front of his mouth to gesticulate him to stay quiet. He looked dirty and tired and worn down but </span>
  <em>
    <span>normal.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Not like the lady just now. Surely in need of a bath and some shaving, his light jacket ripped and covered in reddish-brown stains but his eyes were full of concern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was probably what made Gavin calm down and wipe at his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They sat in silence for a moment longer and Gavin made sure not to make a noise as long as the finger was raised. The stranger was looking around, maybe waiting for something, but Gavin just kept his eyes on him, didn’t want to see any other horror around. There were tattoos all over the other’s skin and he followed the lines just so he didn’t have to think about anything else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the man finally spoke, it was with a heavy sigh, “Good God, what are you doing here, boy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got lost,” Gavin whispered and felt new tears sting his eyes. “I want to go home, Sir.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I bet you do,” the other said. “God, I can’t believe… I never saw a child here. How… how old are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m ten years old, Sir. I’m in the fifth grade.” His voice shook apart and he felt like crying some more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to go home,” he repeated and rubbed at his eyes hard enough to see stars. Still, he could feel the other’s gaze on him, and sniffing, he looked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The stranger also seemed sad, worrying on his lip before shaking his head. “We have to move away from here for now, okay? Do you think you can follow me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not supposed to go away with strangers,” Gavin told him even though parting sounded really bad right now. “I just want to go home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but that’s not as easy as it sounds.” He extended his hand. “I’m Geoff. What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m Gavin.” He didn’t take the other’s hand if only because his own was icky from tears and snot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so now we’re not strangers anymore, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not how these things work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That made Geoff laugh and it sounded rusty like he hadn’t done that in a while. But his blue eyes lightened up with it and that made Gavin smile as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re smart, Gavin. That’s absolutely true and I completely agree but I can’t leave you out here alone. We have to go somewhere that is at least a little safer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will this lady return?” he asked and felt his stomach drop when Geoff nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She will,” he said. “That’s the very first thing you have to learn, Gavin. She is everywhere at once and you have to make sure that she will never ever see you, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What will happen if she sees me?” he whispered and if anything, he got even more scared when Geoff took a moment to consider his answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She will take you,” Geoff finally settled on. “And you don’t want that, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin shook his head wildly because this lady was evil. He didn’t know how he could tell, he just knew that it was true.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, good. So follow me for now and we’ll go inside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin nodded but when he tried to get on his feet, Geoff took a tight grasp in his arm, “Gavin, you have to listen to me on this one. If I tell you to stop or to hide, you do it, and if I tell you to be quiet, you have to be really, really quiet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So that the lady won’t find us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly. Can you do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded again and Geoff seemed pleased with that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They moved along in a strange pattern, not following the path at all. Geoff would gesticulate to him what they would do next, using very few words. He’d point to trees, boulders, or nearly collapsed parts of walls and then they would run there to hide once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Listening seemed to be a very important thing because Geoff did it a lot, and sometimes Gavin would also hear things. Hurried steps, rushing leaves, but those didn’t seem to concern Geoff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Were there other people here as well?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin didn’t dare to ask, not when they were sneaking around like this, moving at a snail’s pace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first time he heard the strange caw again, it froze him on the spot. Geoff hissed at him to hide but he couldn’t. He just looked around wide-eyed and expected the lady to appear again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff tore at his arm until Gavin stumbled into the bush Geoff was already hiding in. His head was pushed down into the soft ground and he could smell dirt and grass as something whooshed past them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stayed there for a long time. Long enough that Gavin got used to the weary silence of this place but every time it was disturbed by the caw, he would jump. It was the lady, he knew that now. She was screaming but not to call for help.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Geoff wouldn’t be sitting next to him, Gavin was sure he would start to run just from the sheer panic in his chest. Everything in him wanted to move, to get away, somewhere where he could be safe. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff never let go of his arm, like he knew exactly what Gavin was thinking. He also took care of his knee, brushing the dirt away, and took a close look. It didn’t even hurt anymore and while Geoff didn’t dare to speak right now, his little hums helped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Geoff pulled him up to his feet, Gavin felt so tired that he wanted to just continue to sit there. But he followed because the thought that Geoff might just leave him fueled him with new terror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fog started soon after.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff just walked through it, not concerned at all at the white clouds hanging right above the ground. It looked strange though, it stuck to their legs and pulled like spiderwebs when they moved and the first time they crouched somewhere, Gavin started to cough. He couldn’t help himself because the fog burned his throat and his eyes, making them water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff shushed him but all he could do was curl into himself, stifling his coughs against his fist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright,” Geoff whispered as he began to rub his back. Those were the first words he had said in a while. “You’ll get used to it and you won’t have to cough anymore. It’s just like this at first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could only hope that Geoff was right because he got the feeling that the fog was settling in his stomach like a thick soup, and he wanted to throw it all up. Gagging, he calmed down after a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff was keeping a hand on his back but when Gavin glanced up to him, he was attentive, constantly looking around. It took a few more minutes until he dared to take a big breath again. It tasted stale and awful but it didn’t burn anymore. Wiping over his face, his sleeve came back dirty and he didn’t even care.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry,” he said, but Geoff shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s normal and it turned out alright. We’re nearly there now, can you see it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pulled Gavin closer so that he could look around the boulder they were hiding behind and it took him a moment to make out the big shadow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a building, a huge one that stood there in the fog. It was the source of the lights he had noticed before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s that?” Gavin asked in awe as his eyes followed the huge dome at the top.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was a… hospital some time ago.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A hospital? But the hospital was down the road in the next city. He had been there when his grandpa had been sick.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But before he could ask, Geoff already pointed ahead and they moved on. It was harder to walk here and Gavin constantly had to check on his footing. The ground was littered with debris and when they ducked behind a wall, they even had to climb through an empty window.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they came closer, Gavin could see a big metal arch in front of the entry and he read the letters aloud, “Crotus Prenn A- Asi-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Asylum,” Geoff helped along and that word sounded familiar. It took him a moment until Gavin remembered why.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s that bad house!” he said. “My mom told me not to go there because nowadays a lot of scary people live there!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your mom is a very smart woman then, but right now it’s the safest place to be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unsure, Gavin watched him but didn’t hesitate to follow Geoff. Staying out here alone would be even worse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door of the place laid on the steps leading up to the entrance, the glass broken and Geoff warned him about shards as they took a few steps to get inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was dirty there, dusty and dark, and with a lot of trash everywhere. It also smelled bad, like something was rotting away but the fog stopped right at the threshold. Their steps echoed in the little entrance area as Geoff guided him towards the stairs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They don’t look safe,” Gavin mumbled as he took the steps. Some of them were broken and he was pretty sure there was mold around the edge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’ve held for a long time already.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Turning his head, he tried to catch a glimpse out of the windows but they were high up and if there was still glass in them, it was dirty like it hadn’t been cleaned in forever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was this really a hospital?” he asked as they turned into a long, long hallway. That looked more like a hospital, he remembered taking his mom’s hand as they walked through that maze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s very old. An asylum is a place for people who are not quite alright. Their body is okay and they have nothing broken but there is something not right with their head.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You mean people who are crazy?” Gavin asked. “I once met a man who was talking to himself the whole time. It was a bit scary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something like that. Today you can help those people very well but back when this one here was built… they weren’t helped that much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But if they were sick, they should have been helped. They will just get more sick otherwise,” Gavin protested and Geoff turned to him with a small smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I agree with that and many other people have as well. That’s why places like this were closed. Nobody took care of this building in a long, long time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They turned a corner and Geoff took his arm. “Be careful here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A part of the wall was completely missing, shards and bricks littering the ground, and Gavin was very careful to step over them as they sneaked closer to the gaping hole.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was dizzying, to be so high up and have no safety whatsoever. He could walk right off if he wanted to. If he’d stumble he would fall straight to his death. Still, from here he could see very far, over the debris and the trees now growing in between, down to a huge wall that seemed to go around this whole area.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He frowned at the sight because hadn’t he just walked through there? He woke up by a campfire but he couldn’t see it from here. Was he that turned around?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff seemed to notice his confusion and told him, “It closed after you went through. It always does.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Walls can’t do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff nodded thoughtfully, “Normally they don’t, you’re right. Everything is a bit… a bit different in here, Gavin.” Leaning ahead, Geoff still kept a tight hold on him as he pointed to the left. “Do you see that big gate down there? All the way in the back?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin slowly crept closer to the edge until yes, there was something in the fog. He nodded. “Is that how I will get home?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s how we will all get home hopefully,” Geoff told him but he sounded strangely sad about it. “It’s closed for now though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then open it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re trying.” Geoff moved away and pulled him down the corridor with the many doors. Geoff opened one of them into a tiny room. There was a bed with a table in the corner, a strange red locker and that was it. No window, just blank walls but at least it was cleaner than the rest of what he’d seen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be careful, there’s a hole. There are a lot of holes in this building, so always watch out.” Geoff pointed to the back corner and Gavin walked closer. The hole was maybe as big as his fist and from here he could look down to the floor below.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you live here?” he asked and watched as Geoff lit a candle. He had a whole bunch of them, carefully piled on the table next to the bed. Only that it wasn’t a table, it was a cart that had been turned around to function as such.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I try to survive here. Sally usually doesn’t come into rooms so it’s relatively safe here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sally?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The lady you saw before. Sally Smithson is her name, at least we believe it’s her. We found some records.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin didn't care as he stepped away from the hole and closer to the warm shine of the candle. “So when can I go home?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When we open the gate,” Geoff explained and sat on the bed. It creaked and still, he patted the place next to him for Gavin to sit down. “And that’s the problem. We haven’t quite figured out how yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t you just pull it open?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff chuckled at that. “I fear it’s not that easy, buddy. It’s too heavy for that and we figured it needs electricity. But the good news is, we found some generators! They needed some repairs, but now they’re working again. Since then we at least have a little light in here. It’s just… not enough yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not enough?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff nodded. “But we’re looking around, searching for more and then we can get out of here! It just takes time to look around because we can’t let Sally see us. Do you understand?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think so.” Shuffling closer, he climbed onto the bed. “What is this place?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t answer that. I also only woke up here, just like you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But there are others here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A couple more people. You should keep away from them for now. Not all of them are… good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you are?” Gavin asked hopefully and Geoff smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really hope so, buddy.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff tried hard not to panic. He had gotten used to that feeling since getting here, it was hard to keep yourself together knowing that you were hunted, knowing what would happen if you were caught.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Out here, he had seen a lot of things. Horrible, horrible things.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before coming here the only dead person he had seen had been his grandpa and he had died in his sleep. Here there wasn’t such mercy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff had seen people die in grotesque ways, heard their screams when he tried to rest for a while. They echoed in this closed space when someone got caught or hurt, and that wasn’t the worst of it, God no.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Up here, from the broken windows, he had watched people running at this disfigured nurse. People who had laughed as that bone saw cut through their muscles and flesh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madness reigned in this space.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And now there was a child.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin was sleeping on the bed, wrapped in the itchy blankets Geoff had gathered. They were so dusty and moldy that Geoff hadn’t even wanted to know how old they were. But it was better than nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff was sitting on the floor, leaning his back against the bed, and clasped a hand tightly over his mouth so he wouldn’t wake the boy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What should he do?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t lock Gavin in here because as much as he’d like to pretend it was, this place wasn’t safe. Nowhere was safe when Sally walked through the halls, popping up wherever and whenever she wanted to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t even a game of wits because it was impossible to foresee her next moves, to figure out which route was the safest. There had been many who had survived for so very long just to be caught by surprise. It took a damn lot of luck and nobody here seemed to have enough. As if the damn nurse were just toying with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How was he meant to keep a boy safe in here? He barely managed to get by on his own! Had he learned enough to also keep someone else safe? It was hard to tell, he got lucky more than once to get this far but the thing was, he didn’t have a choice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moment he had pulled this crying child into the bushes, he had sealed his very own fate. He couldn’t just shove Gavin from his room and tell him to deal with it himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy would be dead within an hour and Geoff doubted anyone else would care. There weren’t more than a handful of people who dared and tried to help someone, most just took the chance to take a breather when Sally was occupied with someone else. When someone was caught it meant at least a short moment without fear of getting caught yourself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At first, Geoff had been angry about that, had tried to reason with those people but by now he understood. Getting those gates open was more important. It was unlikely to save someone once the nurse got them in their grasp and endangering oneself wasn’t an easy decision to make.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Turning his head, he found the boy’s brow furrowed, little hands grasping the blanket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ten years old.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Good God, this was no place for adults and certainly not for a kid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But here he was and now Geoff would have to deal with this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How could he explain to the boy how much danger they were in? How could he stop him from seeing all this horror waiting here?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right now, he had no answer for that.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Geoff startled awake like he did most of the time. There was no real day and night cycle, it always stayed dark so he just nodded off when he got too tired. For a moment he was confused as to why he was on the floor and not in his bed but then he remembered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy. Gavin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sitting up, he found the bed empty, the sheets tossed and the door slightly ajar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Doors didn’t mean a lot out here, not when the nurse could just blink through them but it was at least some form of protection.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stumbling to his feet, he stopped himself from calling out. Not making noise was one of the first rules to learn here, listening for anything unusual the second.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why hadn’t he heard the boy? He should have!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Opening the door fully, he peeked outside. No sign of good old Sally, which was a relief, and he found Gavin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy stood by the collapsed wall, looking down into the field below. He had sat on the littered ground, most likely to keep from slipping and falling out. When he heard Geoff, he looked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the pale moonlight he looked sick, eyes huge in fear and the cold wind tousling his hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing out here?” Geoff mumbled and rubbed his face to get rid of the lingering tiredness. “It’s dangerous.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was careful and really quiet,” Gavin told him and stood. “I thought it was all a nightmare but you were there when I woke up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you went to check?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy nodded. His face was tight and he was shaking a little. Geoff wasn’t sure if it was because he was cold or out of fear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to go home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, bud. We’ll work on that, alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy nodded and when Geoff held out his hand, he took it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I help?” Gavin asked as he trotted after him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff shivered just thinking about it. Gavin by his side while they searched for more generators, for parts, and maybe other survivors. The boy seeing the horrors this place held.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Never, he wouldn’t allow that! Geoff had no idea how he was dealing with all the shit he was seeing but a child? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it's better if you stay in my room.” Geoff pulled him back towards their little hidey-hole but the boy didn’t relax. The words seemed to freak him out even more and when he looked down at Gavin, his eyes were huge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All alone?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s safe in there.” Geoff opened the door and crossed the small space. He sat Gavin on the bed and crouched down so that they were on eye level with each other. “I won’t stay outside for too long and until then you have to stay here, okay? And I mean here, don’t go outside!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanna come with you!” Gavin protested but Geoff quickly shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous out there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bu-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Promise me, Gavin. Promise me you won’t leave this room without my permission!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy squirmed a little under his gaze but when Geoff didn’t take it back, Gavin nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good boy.” Geoff ruffled his hair. “If you hear anything, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything </span>
  </em>
  <span>at all, I want you to hide. In the closet or under the bed. Just out of sight, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will she come in here?” Gavin asked, hands grasping the blanket tightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment Geoff wanted to lie, to make Gavin believe that he at least had this little safe haven in this whole nightmare. But what if Sally would come in here? It was rare but not unheard of that she wandered the corridors of Crotus Prenn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a possibility,” he admitted. “But I don’t think she will, okay? It’s just a safety measure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Is she a ghost?”</p><p>“Something like that. She was someone who worked here a long time ago.”</p><p>“Did she die?”</p><p>Geoff thought about the rope around her neck, the crooked state of her head, and nodded. “I think she did, Gav.”</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chapter 2</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Leaving the boy alone felt wrong but taking him along could end even worse. It was just another worry on top of all the others as Geoff moved through the bushes towards the place he had found Gavin yesterday.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was part of his daily ritual, to check this whole area in a controlled fashion. It wasn’t as easy to find a new generator as he had made Gavin believe. It was always dark in here, a muddy twilight that wouldn’t pass, and on top of all of that was the fog. The fog could get so thick that it was hard to see for more than a few feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And now, Geoff couldn’t help but throw even more glances over his shoulders, up to the windows of the asylum. Wondering if Gavin was alright, if the nurse was moving through the halls hunting the boy down right now</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A part of him wanted to stand still, to stay with the boy and keep him safe in hopes the other survivors would be able to get the gates open. That wouldn’t work, he knew that. Keeping in motion, doing something helped against the overwhelming feeling of threat surrounding them here. People who didn’t, those who he would sometimes find just sitting on the stairs or in some of the rooms didn’t make it long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They went insane.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All Geoff could do was hurry up and get back as soon as possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While he crouched behind a boulder, he listened for long enough to make sure he was alone before he began. It was frustrating work, searching for missing parts for the generators. Then again, there was nothing more frustrating than working on a generator and missing a fucking screw or whatever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On top of all of that, it was impossible to tell how long he was looking around for parts. His watch had stopped working upon waking up here and the light never changed. It could feel like forever or like no time at all had passed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This world was strange like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stumbled over something in the high grass and bent down to pick it up. It was too bright for this place, the colors too vivid but it was definitely a backpack. Green with cartoonish cats on it and surprisingly heavy. As he opened it, he found books inside and sat down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>God, it had been long since he had found books that didn’t tell grisly stories about lobotomies or other horrible things. Those were all over the place here, along with disturbing diaries, but no, those were math books, english stories, a bunch of others.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had to be Gavin’s school bag, he must have lost it while running because Geoff hadn’t seen it on him yesterday. He rummaged around for a moment to find broken crayons and pencil nubs rolling around, but also blank paper and a pencil case.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was good, he could give that to the boy. Gavin could draw, could write while Geoff was gone which was certainly better than just sitting around in the room. Giving him something to do would greatly reduce the risk of him wandering off!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Putting everything back inside, he closed the bag and threw it over his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He should search further, he hadn’t even heard the nurse today and that was rare enough. But if old Sally wasn’t here, she could be close to the asylum.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he returned early and sure enough, the closer he got back to the building the more he could hear distant noises. It could be some other survivors stalking through the bushes but once or twice he could hear the nurse’s scream. It was distant but she could be fast if she wanted to be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Going through the entrance, he followed the stairs up like usual, only to freeze when he heard something behind him. Someone running inside. They were too fast for him to call out, hurrying deeper into the asylum and Geoff decided it was also time for him to get away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With quick steps, he hurried past the collapsed wall and down the corridor until he stopped in front of his room- </span>
  <em>
    <span>their</span>
  </em>
  <span> room. Looking back and forth, he still found himself alone and stepped inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he closed the door, he pressed his ear against it and waited. He stayed like this for a while to make sure nobody was following him and only slowly his eyes wandered across the room. It was empty</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff’s heart skipped a beat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit, shit, shit!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He should have known! The boy had grown bored and had decided to trail off, look around for a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What if he got caught? What if Geoff would hear his little screams next?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hands tightened around the strap of the backpack as he spun around as if the boy would just appear like that. Instead the door of the locker next to him opened and Geoff nearly jumped out of his skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Geoff?” Gavin asked as he sat amidst the dust and dirt. He seemed pale, scared and when he recognized Geoff, he darted out and flung himself at him. His arms wrapped around his middle as he buried his face in his belly and Geoff quickly reached down to pat his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it’s fine. I’m here now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There were scary noises,” Gavin whined and without much thought he picked the boy up. His little body was shivering, arms coming around his shoulder to grasp tightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff rocked the boy for a while and it also helped to calm himself down. Fuck, he had thought Gavin was just gone. Disappeared somewhere into the maze that was this asylum never to be seen again. When he rubbed Gavin’s back, he could feel how tense he was. God, of course, he had been scared. How long had he hidden in that locker?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did good, you did so very good,” he whispered but the boy didn’t answer. Gavin just held on tighter, his little face pressed into the crook of Geoff’s neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stood like this for a while until Gavin’s soft tremors faded but it was alright, the boy barely weighed anything to begin with. After a while, Geoff began to go up and down the room, shushing him slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To be honest, he had no idea how to deal with children and certainly not in a situation like this. At least Gavin seemed to be calming down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the boy lifted his head from his shoulder, his cheeks were red but he hadn’t cried, “Did you open the gate?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not yet, sorry. But look what I found.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held up the bag and Gavin immediately made grabby hands for it. “My bag! Geoff, you found my bag!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess I did.” He let the boy down and had to immediately hand the bag over. Gavin also didn’t hesitate, just poured the whole content on the dirty ground. He did it with such a childish joy as if Geoff had brought him a great treasure, touching each thing gently like he was taking stock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything still there?” Geoff asked as he sat on the bed and Gavin nodded. He opened the pencil box, rummaging around until he was satisfied before bringing his books to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He began explaining to Geoff for what lessons they were needed and at which chapter they currently were and Geoff listened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was nice hearing another voice for once. Sure, he had quick, shushed talks with other survivors but they weren’t as colorful as this one. So he asked his questions and let himself be swept away by the cheerful explanations and for the first time in a long, long while he felt like all he was real.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gavin didn’t like the time when Geoff was away and he was stuck all alone in the room. It never was too long, always bearable, but one time Geoff sat him down and had such a stern look on his face, that it had scared him. It was the look his mother wore when he had screwed up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need some rules,” Geoff told him and Gavin’s eyes grew wide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did I do something wrong?” He didn’t think he had. He had stayed in this room and the only times he had left were with Geoff. It wasn’t like he was leaving a mess because all he had here to occupy himself did easily fit in his bag.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, buddy. I was talking about…” Geoff didn’t look at him, just to the wall like something was there. “I was talking about what you should do if I don’t come back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And that was so much worse than anything Gavin had imagined. Because Geoff was the only one he had here and to think about the possibility to wait for him and him not returning- to be in this room until his last candles burned out, waiting for nothing. He hadn’t thought this nightmare could get any worse but now that fear took root in his heart and wouldn’t leave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had started to cry and begged Geoff not to go. Geoff, wonderful Geoff had shushed him down, had stroke through his wild hair, and had whispered,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That won’t happen, alright, buddy? I’ll promise! I’ve been here for so long, you won’t get rid of me that easily!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the end, Gavin believed him, kinda.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now that idea was there, it wouldn’t leave him alone. Every time he sat on this old bed, waiting for Geoff to return it was there. The fear would dull at some point as he exhausted himself over it. Maybe he just got used to it, and after a while of waiting he would grow bored.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There wasn’t a lot to do besides sit there and listen. Occasionally he would dart for the locker and hide there but after a few times, he was able to distinguish between Geoff’s footsteps and other noises.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The strange woman, Sally, would sometimes move through the hallways. She had no footsteps which was strange but he didn’t like to think about that. He could hear her cries though, the unbearable way she sucked air down to her lungs. Heavy, wet gasps as if she was drowning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moment he heard them, he would dart for the locker and push his hands against his ears until it was over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With his books it was a bit better and he could occupy himself with reading. Geoff had some books as well, found around the asylum but he didn’t understand the big words inside, so he stayed with his own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He even did his homework!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, not all of it, he still didn’t like politics, but he did his math homework.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Geoff got back all exhausted and sweaty, he would sit down with him and check on it. A lot of times Gavin got everything right but when he didn’t, Geoff helped him along. He knew that Geoff was tired and most likely just wanted to sleep but he always stayed awake to take care of him. It was nice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff even explained to him the next chapter and eagerly Gavin went along to do those exercises as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t wait to get back and be smarter than all of the other kids in class!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He would be as smart as Geoff and Geoff knew a lot of things! He explained the generators, even took him to one that was in the basement of the asylum.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was making loud noises which was a bit scary in the usual silence but it was bright down there. The lights weren’t dim or flickered like the ones upstairs and they stayed there for a while, painting rabbits and dogs on the walls with their shadows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the way back Gavin found some screws and Geoff got really proud. They were rusty and dirty but it didn’t matter. Geoff had a whole box of them underneath the bed. Sometimes Gavin went and counted them. He even kept a little list with the exact measurements and amount. Geoff said that was a great help and once they found a new generator, they would get it running in no time at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mist was still here and Geoff didn’t even seem to notice. Gavin wasn’t quite sure how because sometimes it came from underneath the door and made him really, really tired. It would scratch in the back of his throat and his head would start to hurt. He didn’t cough anymore though, just like Geoff had said and that was good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was hard to be quiet when you had to cough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And still, he didn’t like the feeling of breathing it in. It didn’t taste like anything but it was as if it made him heavy somehow. He didn’t feel like running around and doing his homework. He didn’t want to talk to Geoff then and it hurt the other, he could see that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All he wanted was to sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like right now as he watched the fog drag around his feet and fill his head. How long he was already watching the twirling shapes in there, he didn’t know but then he was startled awake by the caw of Sally.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sitting up, he blinked sluggishly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was alone in the room, Geoff had gone out some time ago, and Gavin’s book laid on the floor. He must have started to drift off and now he could hear the breathing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that moment he froze. Blind panic reached for him because those noises were close, very close. Like she was right in front of the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was, he realized. She was right outside this room and he stared at the door, imagining how the handle would turn slowly. Her terrifying shadow as she appeared in the crack of the door, just watching. Watching him for a long, long moment before she would enter and tower over him. She would bring more of the fog with her before she would take him, just like Geoff always said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook the nightmare from him and finally he could glance towards the locker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had to be very quiet, if she heard the old hinges-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The caw interrupted his thoughts and with it, he realized his mistake. She didn’t have to turn the handle, she didn’t have to push the door open and Gavin rolled from the bed. The ground was hard and dirty but he squeezed in the space underneath. It was filthy there and he could feel cobwebs sticking to the nape of his neck. Before he could wipe them away, Sally appeared in the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could see her by the door, his eyes wide and while he was watching, he noticed his blanket. He must have pulled it halfway down as he’d rolled off and now it was starting to slip. It was a slow but steady movement but the only one in the room and then it pooled on the ground with a quiet </span>
  <em>
    <span>whoosh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Immediately the nurse appeared in front of the bed, observing the movement and Gavin pushed his hands against his mouth and stopped breathing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sally wasn’t walking, no. Her feet didn’t reach the ground, they were bare and dirty and bloody but they weren’t touching the ground. Nothing of her was, not even the scrapes of what remained of her uniform. They were stained with dirt and when the fog came into contact with her, it immediately turned black. It looked like smoke as it billowed around her, crawling underneath the bed with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stared at the feet even though his eyes began to water from the fog and oh God, she would pull him out from underneath the bed. She would reach with her thin, pale arms and tear at his hair until he was out. She would be strong, she had to be if Geoff was scared of her and now she was so close, he could easily reach out and touch her. Not that he would, never.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her strangled breathing was drilled into his brain, like she was desperate to catch her breath as she floated around the blanket, looking at it from all sides.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was horrifying and Gavin couldn’t move. His eyes couldn’t even seem to follow her movements as his body locked up, freezing him right where he was. He still wasn’t breathing, didn’t dare to even blink and he could feel tears running down his face. Would she be able to smell them? That seemed impossible but everything in here was impossible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then she turned around, facing the locker, and pulled it open. It was a quick, startling movement that made Gavin flinch. Thankfully any noise he might have made was drowned out by the hinges and oh God, oh God-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Normally he would have hidden in there. He had hidden in there multiple times and she just- she ju-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff had said it would be safe there!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That it would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>safe!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The white lady threw the doors close again and didn’t move, just breathed her horrible loud breaths.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then she left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a loud, horrible scream she vanished from his sight. The dark fog traveling behind her dissipated slowly but he still didn’t dare to breathe. His eyes were locked on the place she had just been as tears dripped down his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted his mother. He wanted to get home or to wake up or to at least hide beneath his own bed, not this one here where cobwebs were so thick and full of dust that he could feel them sticking in his hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That wouldn’t happen and a part of him knew that. That part demanded Geoff, wanted Geoff to come back right </span>
  <em>
    <span>now </span>
  </em>
  <span>but he didn’t call. His voice was gone, he couldn’t even move and it was as if his body wasn’t his anymore. Maybe Geoff would be able to hear his heartbeat because it was slamming so violently that it hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Carefully and as quiet as possible, he dared to take a breath. That hurt as well, his lungs aching from the strain of not breathing for so long but he still kept his hands clasped over his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stayed right there, didn’t dare to move in case she came back and that was how Geoff found him. Maybe Gavin had recognized Geoff’s steps before but it didn’t register in his mind. Only when the door opened, did he flinch. It felt like he was waking up a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff called him but he couldn’t unhinge his jaw, couldn’t make a noise because he was somewhere lost in his body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he watched as Geoff checked on the locker and wondered what would happen if Geoff didn’t find him. Would he die down here? Would Geoff think the white lady had taken him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t tell, just watched as Geoff grew frantic, turning around himself before darting to the door again. He wanted to leave, to search for him somewhere in this massive asylum. Gavin didn’t want him to go, he wanted him to stay close because he was too scared to be alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No words left his mouth, it was just lost thoughts in his otherwise empty head but Geoff hesitated at the door. The next thing Gavin knew Geoff was kneeling in front of him, his blue eyes going wide and Gavin let him pull him out from under the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff was warm as they sat on the floor and now Gavin began to shake. It started in his hands and then worked through his little body until even his teeth were chattering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff tried to shush him down, soft noises right in his ear but Gavin barely registered them. He sat in the other’s lap, slumped against his chest, and tried to call him. He wanted to warn Geoff that he felt like falling, felt like he was still beneath the bed and couldn’t move but he couldn’t get the words out. His jaw was so tightly locked that it hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the end, Geoff’s arms wrapped around him, warm and strong as he was rocked, and slowly Gavin let his eyes drift shut. Geoff was whispering in his ear, saying that it was fine, that they were safe. All white lies but Gavin wanted to believe them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fingers combed through his hair, freeing him from those nasty cobwebs and then rubbing down his spine. At one point Geoff shifted and they sat down on the bed. The blanket was wrapped around him because Gavin was still shaking violently, eyes tightly closed and maybe he fell asleep or something close to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he slowly resurfaced, he couldn’t tell how long he had been gone. He was lying in bed, the blanket still tightly wrapped around him to keep him warm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff was next to him, holding him close and that was good. Gavin’s back was against the wall and so Geoff shielded him from the door and the white lady. He didn’t want her to return, he never wanted to see her ever again!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whimpering, he buried his face in Geoff’s chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though Geoff was asleep but his arm dropped down to curl around him. It was nice and it was good but not enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted to go home.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin’s silence was terrifying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff hadn’t even realized how used he had gotten to the babbling of the boy, but now that it was missing, it was unnerving. He figured the nurse had been in the room, that’s why the boy had hidden beneath the bed. It was no wonder that he was spooked but that wasn’t it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin seemed to be in some kind of shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His breathing was too fast, the eyes a bit too wide and his shaking just wouldn't ease. Even when the boy fell into an exhausted sleep it was still there in his clinging hands and soft whimpers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin didn’t talk, even after waking up. A strange heaviness surrounded him that just didn’t seem to pass. He was somewhere deep inside his own thoughts, where Geoff couldn't reach him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So Geoff stayed with him, let the boy curl into his side as he read him stories from his book.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were childish little things that seemed grotesque in their situation but Gavin had his head tucked beneath his chin and listened intently. When they eventually ran out of stories, he told his own and those made Gavin smile a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It fell just as quickly when Geoff tried to get up and Gavin’s arms shot out to wrap around him. Geoff had only wanted to check on the hallway but Gavin was staring at him with such blatant fear, that he laid back down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This wasn’t a solution, Geoff couldn’t stay like this but he couldn’t bring himself to break that news to Gavin. Not right now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stayed for a few hours longer, laying in silence with the boy breathing against his shoulder and he nearly jumped when Gavin finally talked, </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The white lady doesn’t touch the ground.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Turning his head, he smelled Gavin’s shampoo. Nauseatingly sweet like bubblegum and barely there anymore but somehow comforting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is she a ghost?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something like that. She was someone who worked here a long time ago.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did she die?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff thought about the rope around her neck, the crooked state of her head, and nodded. “I think she did, Gav.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy fell quiet, small hands grasping at Geoff’s dirty jacket as he whispered, “I wish she would have stayed dead.”</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next time Geoff dared to venture outside, he took the boy with him because Gavin refused to stay alone. He knew that he shouldn't do that, that outside horrors were waiting for them but what if Gavin would run after him the next time he got scared? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No, Geoff rather kept him somewhere where he could see him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin had cleaned out his bag and was wearing it now, collecting scraps of metal, screws, and the occasional flowers he would find. Each time they had to sprint somewhere, Geoff could hear the contents rattle inside and it made him nervous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we ever get in danger and we have to run, I want you to throw that bag away,” he told him and Gavin didn’t seem happy about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it’s my bag. Mom told me to take care of it because it was expensive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can grab it again later but you can’t make any noise if you try to hide, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow he looked older now. He was dirty just like they all were and his body was littered with scratches from moving through the bushes. His legs looked the worst because he had come here in shorts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff had looked around but hadn’t found anything remotely in Gavin’s size. Just old, moldy gowns from patients. Maybe he could sew something, but he had no needle or thread.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried to wipe some dirt from Gavin’s cheek and wondered how long the boy was already in here. It was hard to tell, there was just this everlasting twilight, the moon high above. Time had lost all meaning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Also it made him wonder how long he was here but it was such a depressing thought that he quickly let it go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin looked up at the touch and smiled. They were sitting behind a boulder where it was relatively safe, the fog covering them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think we can go on?” Geoff asked and with a deep breath, Gavin nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff moved ahead but Gavin always stayed close enough that he could feel his body heat. Most of the time he would reach ahead and grasp Geoff’s sleeve but by now the boy had grown more daring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The asylum was to their left. They had ventured out further today and now all they could see were the flickering lights and the dome above the fog. It was an eerie sight but he reminded Gavin to always keep an eye out for it. If they ever happened to get separated, they would meet up in their little room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A scream rose in the silence, loud and panicked, and before Geoff could do much than turn his head in the direction, Gavin already pressed against his back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both stayed quiet, crouched down in some bushes and Geoff opened his mouth to tell him that it was okay, that it was some distance away when the scream got interrupted by a strange gasp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It sounded painful, it sounded </span>
  <em>
    <span>wet </span>
  </em>
  <span>and Gavin whimpered. The boy fought to duck beneath Geoff’s arm and Geoff pulled him close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is that? What is happening?” Gavin whispered. “Geoff?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The noise died down eventually and Geoff gesticulated for Gavin to be silent. He knew the boy was scared and he let him curl in his lap but right now he had to listen. Had to make sure the noise wasn’t closer than he might think it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All he could hear was his heartbeat and Gavin’s shallow breaths, the rustling of leaves in the wind. They were safe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But that led him to another question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How could he explain to a child what had just happened?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had seen it before, how this nurse, this creature would throw people on a hook. Would let them hang there as they screamed themselves hoarse. How violently she would bring that bone saw down on flesh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shivering, he wrapped his arms around Gavin and held him close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should be fine,” he mumbled. “It wasn’t close.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” Gavin asked and then, in a whisper, “Someone got hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sally… Sally found someone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Turning his head, Gavin stared up at him with huge eyes. Geoff was nearly sure he could see his reflection in them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What will she do now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh no. No, he would not tell him that!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Geoff lied and when the boy began to shake, he quickly ruffled his hair. “Hey. Hey, it’s fine! She won’t get you, alright? I’ll make sure of it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin nodded again and hid his face in Geoff’s chest. He could still feel him shaking and sat down. They would take their time right now, after all, good ol’ Sally was occupied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about you?” Gavin asked eventually. “She also won’t get you, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t help but smile as he nuzzled Gavin’s hair. The sweet scent of his shampoo was long gone, replaced with sweat and earth. “Of course not. We’ll watch out for each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to go back?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin didn’t look at him; instead, he took in their surroundings before shaking his head. “It was far away right? We can search for a bit longer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was true and it would be a waste to let this opportunity pass. Still… “You sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin nodded and squirmed to get up. He took Geoff’s hand and pulled to get him to stand as well. “Let’s search for a generator.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay boss,” Geoff chuckled and Gavin grinned up to him. Like there was a silent signal, the boy stepped ahead and wrapped his arms around Geoff’s middle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s true, right?” he asked. “We’ll look out for each other?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely, bud. We’ll get out of here together.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They hadn’t walked that much further, searching through some of the ruins and by the little laughs, Geoff could tell that Gavin found something to put in his bag. Gavin had a keen eye or maybe it was just because he was closer to the ground but he picked up screws like crazy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, Geoff was the first who heard the shuffling steps but Gavin was only a second behind. They weren’t far apart but just as he had taught him, Gavin darted towards him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t the cawing or the heavy breathing the nurse did, so it had to be another survivor and as they surely weren’t as dangerous as the nurse, they could be unpredictable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s there?” a voice called and he needed a moment to recognize it. It was Katia, another survivor he had talked to once or twice. A stoic person but far from being the worst. He relaxed and stopped pushing Gavin behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s me,” he called and soon enough the woman stepped around a corner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was small, which according to her had saved her ass a few times already. Her hair had been blond before but the color was growing out with time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Geoff,” she began but trailed off when her eyes fell on Gavin. “What is a kid doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff could feel Gavin press against him, trying to hide somehow and he quickly laid a hand on his head. “The same thing we are. Trying to get out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stared at Gavin a little longer before frowning, “Okay but what are you doing with him? He’ll be dead in a week.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He won’t,” Geoff said harshly because he could feel Gavin’s glance towards him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know Sally, she doesn’t care if they are sick or hurt. She won’t give a fuck if he’s a kid or not, she will ju-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s been with me for way longer than a week,” Geoff interrupted her because he really didn’t need that picture painted out for Gavin. “He’s smart and he’ll be just fine! So do you have anything useful to say or not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She threw another dismissive look at Gavin before letting the topic drop. “Some guy found another generator all the way in the corner. Fucking overgrown with all kinds of shit but he freed most of it. Now we just need some parts for it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was amazing news! Another generator might just be all they needed to finally get out. He was just about to open his mouth, but Gavin was faster, “We have a lot of screws. I have some with me right now.” He reached for his bag but Geoff stopped him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In the corner you said?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, nearly all the way south.” She nodded in the direction but her eyes stayed on Gavin. Like this, Geoff couldn’t tell what she was thinking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll be there soon,” he continued. “First we get the whole box we collected, right, Gav?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy nodded, still pressed against his side, and right now Geoff only wanted to get her to leave. He wasn’t quite sure why but he didn't want other people knowing about Gavin. The people here were twisted and cruel and God knew what strange ideas they might have.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” she said and finally her eyes traveled to him. “Just make sure to let everyone know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” He took a tight hold on Gavin and pulled him along, back towards the asylum. The boy threw glances over his shoulder but Geoff knew that Katia was gone, had heard her leave in the opposite direction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They moved in silence but he could tell that Gavin was worrying over something and that was no surprise. Geoff just decided not to mention the elephant in the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stepping into the asylum, they hurried up the stairs, and only when they stepped into their little room, did Gavin speak, “It’s strange.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To see other people,” he mumbled. “I nearly believed that we were the only ones in this world.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What an ominous thing to say. Geoff didn’t even know what he was supposed to answer to that. Instead he kneeled to pull the box from underneath the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Geoff?” Gavin went on as he sat up again, blowing the dust off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was that lady right? Will I die?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff spun around and Gavin still stood by the door, playing with his sleeves. He had a look of intense concentration on his face and Geoff quickly reached out to him. “Of course not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin hesitated before taking the hand and Geoff pulled him closer. They watched each other for a moment before he reached up to flick the boy beneath the chin. “We’ll be out very soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wanna put your new screws in the box now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin nodded and just like that his gloominess was gone. Geoff wasn’t sure if it would always be this easy.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin proudly carried the box in his bag as Geoff led them south. Or what they assume was south, someone had painted a makeshift compass onto the upper floor of the asylum and they used it for orientation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were still no new sounds coming from the nurse, so Geoff was pretty relaxed and even ignored the rattling coming from Gavin’s bag at each step. They found the southern wall and followed it. Gavin ran ahead, skipping over stones and crawling through the empty windows. It was a good feeling to walk around normally for once and Gavin seemed genuinely happy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only when they heard the distant noises of other people, did the boy return right back to his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Three people were sitting around the generator and they all looked up once they noticed them. It was a normal reaction but when they saw Gavin, a tense silence fell over them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They outright stared at the boy and Geoff quickly reached down to put a hand on Gavin’s shoulder. If he wanted to keep the boy from running off or just wanted to show those guys that he was under his protection, he wasn’t sure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then one of them, a young woman with scarred over scratches on her face, stood up and approached them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey there, sweetie,” she said as she crouched in front of Gavin. “How are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” the boy mumbled and tried very hard not to outright stare at the scars. “I brought screws.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nodding, Gavin opened his bag and held the box out. The woman reached for it but he quickly pressed it against his chest with a glance up to Geoff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine,” he told him. “We all want to get out of here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin tentatively handed it over but it took a while longer until he had enough courage to step closer and watch them work. Geoff kept a close eye on him and he would feel saver also working on the generator but the woman from before had sat down next to him, “Is he really okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think so,” he said. “He’s very brave.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God, he’s just a child.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff nodded and for a moment he dared to relax. Good ol’ Sally was occupied with a poor soul and while Geoff didn’t trust any of the people here, it was a wonderful feeling to be back around others. Gavin was fantastic and before he had come here, Geoff had felt endlessly lonely but Gavin was a child. The people here were adults and it felt good to share this weight for once. “I’m really scared that something will happen to him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kids can be unpredictable,” she agreed. “Does he… know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Most of it, but I didn’t tell him everything. He knows how to hide and move around quietly.” Something a kid shouldn’t know, but somehow that thought made him smile, even if it was bitter, “He’s a good kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She threw him a look before chuckling, “He seems like he is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They sat for a moment in silence, watching as Gavin helped along as best as he could. He was marking down which screws he was handing the men working, making sure his list stayed up-to-date. He seemed to enjoy himself and so Geoff let him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not too long though and the woman next to him grew antsy as well. Their time was nearly up, the nurse would be done with the poor fellow she had caught and Geoff wanted to be in the safety of the asylum before that happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Gav,” he said and held out his hand. “The screws can stay here but we have to get back now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy darted towards him and Geoff was proud of how good he was following his commands. Even though he hoped it would never come to it but that might just save his life one day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were on the stairs when they heard the screaming of the nurse again and they stopped by the collapsed wall to look out over the field below. They couldn't see her anywhere and so Geoff allowed them to watch the area for a moment longer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How long does it take for a generator to get repaired?” Gavin asked him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hard to say. It depends on how damaged it is. The last one took really long but the more people know about it, the more people will work on it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And that means we will repair it faster?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly.” He noticed Gavin’s grin and smiled back. “What do you wanna do after we took a nap? Go and search some screws or check out the generator again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The generator,” came his answer promptly. “We can search for screws on the way there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Deal.” He was ready to go on but Gavin made no move to get up. He was watching the area some more and Geoff couldn’t help himself but take a hold on his shoulder to steady him. It made him nervous that the kid was so close to the edge even though he was usually careful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This means we’ll be home soon, right?” Gavin asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It certainly means we made a big step ahead. We can hope that it’s the last generator we need.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The white fog appeared again and he could tell how Gavin hunched in on himself. Geoff didn’t quite understand his fear of the fog, it could be great to hide in but when he tugged on his shoulder now, Gavin got up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff made his way down the corridor but hadn’t expected Gavin to take his hand and pull him to a stop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happens after we get out?” the boy asked and there was such a strange expression on his face, that he couldn’t read it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean? We’ll go back to our lives.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what about you? Will you just be gone?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ah, that’s what it was about. To be honest, Geoff hadn’t dared to dream about the outside world. It always seemed so distant, a hope that was driving him but could also destroy him. It was one of the reasons why he never asked where Gavin was from. Or which year.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He feared the answer, feared that they would be worlds apart. Years apart. He had no clue how long he was in here already, how long that was in the real world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt like forever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Crouching down, he got on eye level with the boy. “Tell you what, when we get out I’ll find you, alright? It’s way easier for a grownup to find someone than the other way around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I bet Mom would help me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m sure she will. Let’s see who will be quicker than, alright? We’ll make it a race!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!” Gavin nodded enthusiastically before letting him go and marching towards their room. “We better start making plans now because it can’t be that much longer, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really hope so, bud.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you guys for all the encouraging words ♥</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“I like you too,” he managed to bring out and then decided to fuck it. He picked Gavin up and pressed a kiss to his dirty hair. “I like you as well, bud.”</p><p>And Gavin hugged him with all his little strength and just for a moment everything was alright.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chapter 3</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Visiting the generator was becoming some kind of attraction because Gavin loved watching the other survivors work. He would ask a thousand questions and if he was allowed to, he would help along by handing them parts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff knew it made him happy, which was good but Gavin was also too young to notice the looks some of those people were throwing him. He didn’t belong here, they whispered. A child was a liability, was just additional weight on top of everything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was stupid but Geoff had seen people in here lash out over less.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They met the woman again and she introduced herself as Abby. She had managed to sew something that resembled pants out of old bedsheets and while it wasn’t a perfect fit, it certainly was better than Gavin’s old shorts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Abby had a daughter back at home, she told Geoff one day. Just one year older than Gavin and that was a horrifying and sad thought. But sometimes Geoff caught her watching Gavin with a strange form of greed that made him uneasy. He knew that Gavin liked her a great deal and still he never dared to leave the two of them out of his line of sight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they made their way towards the generator today, he hoped Abby wouldn’t be there. There was nothing rumbling in Gavin’s bag and the boy was a bit bummed out about it. They had searched some new places but they had already been picked clean and Geoff knew that Gavin loved to present his findings to the people working on the generator.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t think the parts were really needed anymore. The closer they got to the generator, the more they could hear the thing rattle. It was only a matter of time until it was fully running. There were a couple of survivors sitting around the generator and this time Gavin didn’t run ahead to present them his findings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In retrospect, they got lucky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff could already see the glares the boy received just for being there. One of the men actually opened his mouth but before he could say a thing, they all heard the familiar cawing. Spinning around, Geoff stared towards the asylum. He could see the white figure for a second before she blinked again and this time her scream was deafening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The nurse appeared by the generator and swung her bone saw.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Next to him, Gavin had frozen and they both watched blood splatter over the ground, horribly red in the saturated night. A gurgling sound followed as one of the men collapsed, holding his throat. For the longest time that seemed to be the only noise in the world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In reality it couldn’t have been more than a heartbeat because the nurse gave an exhausted moan and slumped into herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then all hell broke loose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were breathless screams, people scrambling onto their legs and before Geoff could even think about it, his arm shot out and clamped around Gavin’s. He nearly ripped the boy from his two feet he pulled so hard, but it seemed to work and Gavin stumbled and turned around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They ran.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff wasn’t sure where to or had any plan behind this. He didn’t even know if they were chased to begin with and had no time to turn around and check. It was all just blind panic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she was somewhere behind them. She was chasing one of them for sure and all he could do was hope that it wasn’t them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They reached parts of the ruins and Geoff vaulted through one of the windows, hoping against hope that it would somehow make them lose her. A soft gasp made him hesitate and he turned around to see Gavin struggling to get through the opening. He wasn’t tall enough to just jump, so he had to swing one leg over first.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff grasped the back of his shirt and pulled him through. In the blink of an eye, the nurse appeared on the other side of the window and brought her bone saw down. It embedded into the wooden window sill, right where Gavin’s leg had been just a second before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now they were face to face, with just a brittle wall in between them and Geoff was pretty sure his heart stopped at that moment. Beneath the dirty bag that had been pulled over her crooked head, he could see her eyes glowing red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of all the things he had witnessed in here, that was probably the most terrifying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin made a noise that sounded strangely like a hiccup and Geoff managed to stumble a step back, pressing him tighter against his chest. He spun away from those terrifying eyes before they could pin him down any longer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t alone, he had to remind himself of that. He wasn’t alone and he had to look after Gavin because no one else would.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He ran deeper into the ruins, turning corners and crouching into the tall grass to catch his breath. She was still after them, her long, hoarse breathing was following them wherever he seemed to go. Each second he expected her to just appear in front of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin didn’t move or speak. He was barely more than a weight Geoff had to carry around but that was probably for the best. Geoff wasn’t sure what he would do if the boy would cry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’d probably be dead then.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The nurse appeared in the distance, near a tree they were heading to. Geoff fell on his ass in his hurry to stop moving and pressing Gavin close, he scrambled back behind cover.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pushing his back against the brittle wall, he waited. Where should they go? She would surely stay around!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He threw a look down towards Gavin but could only see the top of his head. The boy was hiding his face in his chest, grasping his shirt tightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff sent a short prayer to whoever would listen and slowly stood up again. The labored breaths were gone but he didn’t quite dare to check around the corner. A childish fear born from too many horror movies told him she would just wait there to jump at him. Instead, he moved back the way they had come from, making sure he still had a tight hold on Gavin’s small form.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a scream somewhere behind them but Geoff didn’t turn around, only Gavin lifted his head slightly. Hopefully it was one of the other survivors, hopefully Sally had found someone else and was hunting them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Those were horrible thoughts and later he would deny ever thinking them but right now it was true. God, it was so true.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He found one of the lockers and reached out to open it quietly. His hand shook so hard that he nearly missed the handle to do so but in the end, he managed and squeezed inside. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Inside it was narrow and dusty and his own beating hard was sounding so much louder than it had any right to be. There were slits to look out from but he didn’t dare. He didn’t want to see it coming if she found them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then Gavin began to move and Geoff pulled himself together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you stand?” he whispered and the boy nodded so he let him down. It was cramped in here and two adults wouldn’t be able to fit but they managed. It was so dark here, the only light source coming from the small slits, so that he could barely see Gavin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is she gone?” Gavin asked and Geoff was a bit surprised. He had expected the boy to fall silent, like the last time he had been close to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope so,” he found himself answering and his voice was a mess. Tight and shaking and he pressed his fists against his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had to pull himself together. If not for him, then for Gavin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking a deep breath, he could feel the boy shake. “But I need you to listen, Gavin. We both have to listen real closely.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” He fell silent and Geoff could feel him shifting around as if he was trying to look through the slits as well even though he was nowhere near tall enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking another deep breath, Geoff opened his eyes again and looked out himself. There wasn’t much to see, the fog that would hopefully hide any trail they had left behind, some brittle wall to their left and there… what was that on the ground?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not rubble or books, but something that looked like a hatch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had heard about that before, a hatch that appeared and disappeared on a whim but by now he had thought it to be nothing but a rumor. On the other hand, he wasn’t surprised by anything anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff was just debating if he should go out and check on it when Gavin sobbed. The boy tried to be very quiet, Geoff could see how he pushed his hands against his mouth but it shook through his whole body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he mumbled and had a hard time crouching down in the tight space. “Hey, buddy. What’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What a stupid question. If he could he would kick himself for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There w-was blood,” Gavin said. It was hard to understand because he was still muffling his voice. “I think that guy i-is dead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Most likely, yeah. The nurse had gotten him so fast and with one clean strike, that Geoff was pretty sure he had been dead before he had hit the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reaching out, he felt for Gavin’s head in the little light they had and ruffled his hair. “We don’t know that,” he lied because that wasn’t something he could tell a child. “And we are okay, right? You are not hurt?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy shook his head but shyly stepped ahead. Geoff was quick to wrap him in his arms and sat down so that Gavin could settle in his lap. It was narrow and uncomfortable but he didn’t care, just held Gavin as tight as he could because he feared the boy would shake apart if he wouldn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll stay here for now, okay?” he mumbled into Gavin’s hair that didn’t smell like bubblegum anymore. “We stay here and wait until we’re sure she is far, far away and then we head to our room.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But the generator!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone will take care of that soon enough but for now it’s too dangerous.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanna go home,” Gavin mumbled. “I want us to go home and then… then you can come over and I’ll show you my room, okay? I have a lot of books and I play football! Can we play football together?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d love to.” Closing his eyes, Geoff nearly allowed himself to imagine this but he quickly pushed it back down. Hope could be dangerous but God, he wanted it to be true. “Soon, okay? Very soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They stayed in the locker for a long time. Geoff was more or less dozing, while Gavin was full out sleeping. The boy had cried a little but had tried to hide it, so Geoff hadn’t said a thing. Now he was curled against his chest, exhausted but calm, and Geoff didn’t want to disturb him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He briefly thought about the hatch outside, if he should check it out or not but again he didn’t dare to hope.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fog came from the cracks in the doors and somehow Gavin woke up from it. They both listened with closed eyes until Geoff let them out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hatch was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a while he stared at the place where it had been but Gavin was pulling at his sleeve and so he let it go. Just another mystery. He had enough of those for his entire life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They began their walk back, hand in hand and Gavin still had his bag. There was nothing rumbling inside of it and thank God for that. Neither of them had thought about it in their headless flight. It could have meant their death.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Geoff?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked down to the boy who was tired and pale and older than before. Vulnerable. It grew better when he smiled, “I like you! You’re very nice!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly Geoff had to swallow down tears. His eyes were swimming and he had to stop walking because… because this wasn’t fair. This boy was too gentle, too damn young for this! He didn’t belong in this place!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Geo-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I like you too,” he managed to bring out and then decided to fuck it. He picked Gavin up and pressed a kiss to his dirty hair. “I like you as well, bud.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Gavin hugged him with all his little strength and just for a moment everything was alright.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff asked him to stay in the room the next time he went for the generator and at first Gavin protested. True, the last time had been horrible and dangerous but at least Geoff had been with him! That was better, being alone was horrible and he got scared way too easily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the nurse had been after them, he had been able to just close his eyes and lay his trust in Geoff’s hands. Geoff had kept him safe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Geoff insisted and promised he would just take a look and come right back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that Gavin sat on the old, moldy bed, he figured he understood why.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sally had hit that guy while he had been working on the generator. There had been blood, he could clearly remember that because it had been so bright and he had never before seen so much in one place. At least not real blood, just in movies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So what if that guy was dead? Actually really dead like old people died? The body would still be there then and Gavin really, really didn’t want to see it. Maybe Geoff wanted to make sure it was okay to go there! Gavin didn’t want to have any more nightmares than he already had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So now he was scribbling down his math homework like Geoff had asked him to do. It was strange, the exercises were really hard even though he knew how to solve them. It was just that he couldn’t seem to think. Sometimes he felt like the fog had wrapped around his brain and squeezed. When that happened, he would be in a bad mood and very sleepy. One time he had stared at Geoff when he’d come back and couldn’t remember his name for several minutes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t think Geoff noticed that but he surely noticed the mood swings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right now he felt his eyelids grow heavy once again but he fought through it. Geoff had asked him to finish those exercises so he would! It was dangerous to take a nap while being alone anyway, he had learned that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he went back to his math but mostly just scribbled in the corner of the paper. It were scary things, the nurse and the man who had all of the blood come out of him. He even went through his bag to find a red pencil and colored it. As he thought about it, he also made big red circles in the nurse’s face because her eyes were glowing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was strange, wasn’t it? Glowing eyes?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His cat’s eyes sometimes glowed in the dark but not red. Had he ever told Geoff that he had a cat? Probably, but he had never asked Geoff if he had a pet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He would do it later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Putting the pen down, he looked back inside his math book because he had already forgotten what he was meant to do. When his eyes found his notes again, he shivered at what he had drawn and quickly took his pen to cross it all out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He must have nudged the red pen because it fell from the bed and rolled over the floor. Gavin watched it because it was certainly more entertaining than math for now but jumped up when he noticed that it was rolling towards the hole in the corner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff always told him to stay away from it, in fear he would step in and twist his ankle so Gavin hesitated a moment too long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pen went over the edge and he could hear it fall to the floor beneath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin inched closer, just so he could look over the edge and yeah, down there laid his red pencil. It would be easy to get out and collect it. It was just one floor beneath and if he ran, he would be back in two minutes. Geoff wouldn’t even know! But before he could decide, he heard the telltale caw.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It made him freeze because it sounded kinda close and sure enough the nurse appeared down below. He could see the top of her head as she floated around the pen. She seemed very intrigued by it and Gavin hoped it wouldn't stay like that. Hopefully she would get bored and go away soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead she finally held still and slowly, very slowly lifted her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin felt cold fear coil in his stomach as those red, red eyes stared right up to him. Through the hole he wasn't even supposed to step close to, the nurse stared at him and his feet wouldn't move.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She did move though. With one more scream, she disappeared from his sight. She wasn't gone, oh no, she had vanished towards the stairs and slowly Gavin pushed his hands against his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why? He wasn't quite sure. So that she wouldn't hear him anymore, maybe. But she had already seen him - </span>
  <em>
    <span>he had to run!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes traveled over the small room, searching for help or a weapon. There was nothing there. His bag laid next to the bed, the pens and books inside useless and Geoff was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, he managed to take a step. It felt strange, like his feet weren't quite ready for that but he had to </span>
  <em>
    <span>move! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Reaching the door, he pulled it open even though a small voice told him to hide underneath the bed again. But she would find him there, she knew in which room he was! He had to get away!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The nurse stood in the hallway. He saw her as he stepped out and froze again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was a bit away, right by the collapsed wall. He could hear her as well. Her heavy breathing beneath the bag but no steps because her feet didn't reach the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin’s heart stopped. He stared at her as she stood there in the dim light, the old uniform dirty and torn and her eyes glowing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t looking directly at him but she had to hear him. His heart was beating so fast that it hurt his chest. Licking his lips, he clung to the door and debated if he should go back inside and try to hide when her head snapped around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now she saw him, her eyes seemed to brighten and the hand with her bone saw rose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin threw himself around and ran.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Away from the stairs and deeper into the belly of the asylum. He had never been here before, Geoff had told him that he would get lost but right now it was his only option. And maybe he could get the nurse to get lost in the labyrinth of corridors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He jumped over some books when he heard her scream. Gavin just skipped around a corner to change directions and she actually passed by him, he could feel her cold breeze against his neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't stop to check where she had gone, he knew she was still on to him. With drumming feet and gasping breath he ran on and suddenly he realized that he could die here. He was going to die in this dirty hallway with no one by his side. The guy by the generator at least hadn't seen it coming but Gavin could clearly remember that scarlet blood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was his blood like that as well?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Would Geoff find him here or would he just figure out what had happened to him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No! He didn't want to die! Geoff had said they would go home together and that very soon!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His feet carried him into a dead end and Gavin didn’t even stop to look around. There were a couple of doors around and he threw himself against the first one he found.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t budge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Behind him, the heaving gasps of the nurse came closer and the panic was white hot, he couldn’t think. Taking a few steps back, he tried another door and that one swung open. He stumbled inside a room and instantly got his feet caught on something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin hit the floor hard enough that he saw stars. The impact made a cloud of dust and mold rise but he fought to get to his knees. The floor was made out of dirty green tiles and as he looked around he found a lot of medical equipment. It hung from the ceiling and in the dim light the metal frames looked like skeletons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It made his breath hitch but against the nightmare chasing him, it was nothing. His foot had hit a bed that had been pushed onto its side and he used it to get on his feet. His knees were shaking because inside of here it was nearly pitch black. Still, he pushed himself to go in deeper, towards the opposite wall to find another door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room was a lot larger than he had anticipated, maybe an ER of some kind but it was hard to say with only seeing the first few feet. With outstretched arms he moved ahead and tried to hold his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn't hear the nurse anymore but that didn't have to mean a lot, right? She didn't walk like he did, she could probably see in the dark and wasn't afraid. Maybe she was in this room with him? Maybe she was holding her breath as she floated right behind him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thought of her hand reaching for him nearly froze him on the spot. A funny voice in his head assured him that this was just a dream, all of it had been! Maybe if he finally got caught, he would wake up at home!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Geoff-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin’s hand hit something cold and he flinched away before realizing it was a shelf of some sort. He had reached the opposite side of the room and now searched with his hand. Another shelf to the left but after that was nothing and then- a door!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pulled it open and found another hallway behind. He had to be back to the outer side of the asylum because there were windows on one side of the wall. Most of them were broken and let an icy draft in but also light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Behind him the door fell shut with a bang that echoed in the silence of the asylum. It was deafening and Gavin’s heart skipped a beat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck!” The nurse would surely follow the sound. He wanted her to be gone! This wasn’t fair!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her scream came from the area he had just left. Still a bit away but way too close. It made him cry but he forced himself to stumble on. Wiping his eyes, he saw that the hallway was widening and large chunks of the floor were missing. He could see down a floor below and for a moment he wondered if he should jump down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But down there was rubbish and debris and what if he would break his legs? Then he couldn't run anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he avoided the holes and even jumped over one and in the next moment it grew bright. Throwing a look up, he was now exactly beneath the glass dome. The broken roof showed him the moon and the round room he was in, was washed in silver light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before, when this building had been in its prime, he was sure it was the heart of the whole thing. He bet it had been beautiful!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right now it filled him with fear because he was in the spotlight as the nurse appeared at the end of the long hallway he had just come from.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was gasping just as much as he was. As if the teleporting was costing her strength.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, it was impossible for her not to see him and Gavin threw himself against the next door he could find. He instantly bumped right into someone's back and the person yelled in surprise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Geoff!" he called and clung to their sleeves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They turned around and it wasn't Geoff. Of course it wasn't, Geoff was out by the generator and had told him not to go here. It was a woman, who was pale in shock of being disturbed so suddenly and he guessed he didn't look any better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"God, you scared me!" she brought out. "What are yo-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hide!" Gavin gasped and that had to be enough of an explanation. Looking around, his heart grew heavy. The room was tiny, an office probably. The woman stood in front of a desk, notebooks all over it and shelves on the walls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No other door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only way out was back through the way he had just come from and that meant straight into Sally’s arms. Realizing that, the last of his strength left him. This was hopeless. How was he supposed to escape something like that?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman shoved him to the side and he stumbled against one of the shelves. Slowly, like he was on autopilot he squeezed in between the wall and the shelf. There wasn't much space but the only other hiding place was beneath the table and he saw how the woman ducked beneath there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sally would find him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The nurse would pull him out of here and his blood would be all over the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff wouldn't find him here, he was too deep inside this asylum.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wouldn't see his mom again or his family or his cat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wouldn't go back to class and show how far ahead he was in math now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He started to cry again. It were big tears that were hot enough to scald his skin. This time he allowed them to run down his cheeks as long as he muffled himself with his arm. It didn't matter, right? She couldn't smell him, at least he was pretty sure but she could definitely hear him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So if there was a chance... as small as it was-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a loud scream, the nurse appeared in front of the desk and Gavin closed his eyes. He didn't want to see her, her red eyes and her bare feet that didn't touch the floor. Her hands would be so cold and boney when she would drag him out by his arm or his hair. Just with one hand though, because with the other she would bring the bone saw down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It would hurt and he didn't want it to hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was scared, he really was! Nobody would come for him; it would be impossible for anyone to find him here. Not his parents and not Geoff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her breathing bored into his head, loud and labored and he knew this sound would haunt him for the rest of his life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A dull thud echoed through the room and he flinched, waiting for a cold grip or a sharp edge. When it didn't happen, he cracked one eye open and saw that the nurse had moved around the table and had struck the wood, straight through one of the notebooks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman wasn't hiding beneath anymore, she was crouching at the front of the desk now, careful to move whenever the nurse moved to stay out of sight. Now she was glancing at him and Gavin wondered what she saw.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His face felt dirty and sticky from tears and snot but he held her gaze. It was strange, while he did so it felt like time was slowing down. There were a lot of emotions running through the woman's face but they were too complicated and he didn't recognize them all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then she darted away. Just jumped up, threw open the door and ran out of the hallway. It was so sudden, that Gavin didn't even know how to react.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Should he follow her?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then the nurse already screamed and vanished, going after that poor woman, and he was left alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alone in his small corner, with shaking knees and a snotty face as he tried to catch his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why had she done that? The nurse hadn't even seen her! Maybe she would have vanished!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sniffing, Gavin let it go because his head was too full right now. He just stared at his knees for a while and stopped thinking. For a few moments, he was just existing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only when he heard a grunt of pain in the distance, did he look up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Should he move or stay hidden? The nurse was still around, he knew that, could hear her occasional caws, so he should probably stay here. He was tired enough to fall asleep, exhausted to the bone but he forced himself to stay awake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was true, he should search for a slightly better hiding place and wait there but that wasn't what he wanted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted Geoff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rubbing his eyes, he squeezed himself out of his little hole and got on shaking legs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he stepped out of the office, it was quiet. He stopped where he was and tilted his head to look up at the huge dome. The moon shone through the cracks, a full moon that sent all his silver light to him and again he wanted to stand right here when the asylum was in its prime. Or right in the beginning, when it would smell like fresh paint. When he closed his eyes, he could nearly pretend to be there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook himself and pushed his feet on. He needed to find their room. Maybe Geoff wasn't back yet because if he was already searching for him, it would be hard to find him. But they were supposed to meet back in the room when they got separated, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So Gavin would just hide underneath the blanket until Geoff returned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Following the long hallway back, he wasn't quite sure how to get to their room. In his headless flight he hadn’t paid attention to the way but he would find it somehow, right? Of course he would.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He just didn't anticipate how huge this building was as he walked his way, figuring it was the right one even when he came past rooms he had never seen before. He didn't have the energy to worry about it anymore, he didn't have the energy to hide when the screams would come close. All he did was drag his feet on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He came across a pool of blood, fresh and red. Footprints running to the right and he figured they were from the woman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stepping over it, he continued in the opposite direction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he saw the staircase, he stopped. It was a different angle that he was used to but it was definitely their staircase. Just a few feet past it was the caved in wall. When he reached it, he watched the outside, the bright fog coming from nowhere as if the world was on fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Closing his eyes, he swayed right there at the edge and tried to tell himself to move on. Their room was just a bit further, he just had to go there and crawl into bed but he was so tired. So unbelievably tired.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He started to cry again, as if he had ever really stopped and then he crouched down. It was better than standing and nearly falling, at least he was pretty sure as he folded his arms on his knees to muffle his sobs in them. He felt so empty, carved out even though he was so full. Full of fear and loneliness and he just wanted to go </span>
  <em>
    <span>home!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Why was this happening?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh God," someone said and then steps were closing in. "Oh, there you are!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin was snatched up and he instinctively wrapped his arms around Geoff's shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank God. Thank God, I didn't know where you were," he babbled on while they were moving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Geoff..." Gavin whined and buried his face in the other's neck. Good. It was all good now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's okay, it's fine, bud. We just... just have to leave now, okay?" They weren't heading towards their room but down the stairs and Gavin frowned. He wanted to sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just keep your eyes closed, okay? Real tight until I tell you to open them again. Promise?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin nodded. That he could do. Maybe he could fall asleep right here, even though Geoff was running and it was shaking him but he was so tired, it didn't even matter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They must have stepped outside because he could feel wind on his skin. They weren’t the only ones fleeing the asylum. He could hear screams, maybe the woman he had met in the office but then that one died down and then it was the nurse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t dare to look and Geoff also hadn’t told him to open his eyes again but he could hear her. She was close enough that her breathing was boring into his head. That horrible, horrible noise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff was trying to shush him but he was also running while carrying him and his gasping made all his words come out wrong but Gavin understood anyway. He held on tighter and buried his face in Geoff’s shoulder to make sure he wasn’t making any noise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The nurse’s breathing was still there but it was hard to tell from where it came. It seemed to be all around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff was scared, Gavin could tell. His heart was beating so violently that Gavin could feel it against his chest, could hear his breath hitching ever so slightly. But he didn't let him go, even though he was slowing him down. Gavin knew that if Geoff decided to abandon him, he would end up dead. It was just a passing thought, he trusted Geoff enough to not fear that happening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They darted around a corner and Geoff fell on his knees. He let Gavin go to catch himself but he was clinging to the other like a monkey and didn't fall off. One of Geoff's arms was back quickly, pushing him against his chest as they crawled and cowered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin still didn't dare to open his eyes because Geoff hadn't allowed him to, so he just trusted that they were hidden somewhere. Geoff was gasping for breath and it was ruffling his hair. Then he swallowed heavily and hugged him close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Let me go now," he whispered and Gavin frowned before shaking his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll stay, I swear to God, Gavin," Geoff told him. "But I want you to cover your ears with your hands now. I want you to not hear a thing. Can you do that?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could. Unwrapping himself from Geoff, he reached up to his ears and pushed down. The sound of his own blood rushed through his ears like when he was listening to the sea in a shell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could still feel Geoff, could feel how Geoff put his own calloused hand over Gavin’s eyes to make absolutely sure he wasn’t peeking. They sat like that and Gavin felt lost to the world, not able to see or to hear and he was just happy that Geoff was warm and right beside him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the scream came, he still heard it. It was a high pitched death rattle, a noise unlike anything he had ever heard before. A noise he hopefully would never hear again. It touched his soul and left its mark there, something that he wouldn’t get rid of.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff pulled him close but he was also shaking and Gavin was crying into his shoulder. The screams didn't stop and while his hands muffled them, he could still hear them. They were strange noises, noises that didn't belong to a human but he figured it still was. It was the woman, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman he had run into at the office.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pushed his hands against his ears until it hurt and slowly the noises died down. Geoff still had a hand over his eyes but he was moving it now, to tug at Gavin's own. It was hard to give up his defense but listening was important and if Geoff told him it was alright, he would do it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So Gavin let his hands sink but kept his eyes closed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We need to move.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff took his hand to lead him and Gavin followed without hesitation. There were still noises out there, strange ones he didn’t know but he didn’t want to find out what they were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm going to tell you a story," Geoff said and Gavin nodded wildly. He wanted to hear a story, maybe about princesses and dragons and brave knights.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it wasn't a fairytale.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I talked to some people about the other day. When we ran away I saw a hatch."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A hatch?" Gavin asked and his voice sounded ruined. Geoff squeezed his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, it's another way out. Or at least they say it is. One guy was searching for it and they never saw him again."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Maybe the nurse got him?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That could be but you know what? It's magical, okay? It's a magical hatch." He stopped and Gavin with him. "Open your eyes, please? It's safe right now."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He trusted Geoff and so he opened his eyes. He had to blink against the sudden light after keeping them closed for so long but Geoff was kneeling in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Geoff?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's fine," he assured him but Geoff looked like he was going to cry. Stepping ahead, Gavin wrapped him in his arms to cheer him up and Geoff held him close, his breath ruffling his hair. There was the hatch behind him in the ground. The lid looked heavy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're going to be alright, buddy. You're going to be just fine." Geoff dropped a kiss on top of his hair and then let him go. He moved to the hatch and began to pull on it. It moved with a loud, mechanical screech.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She's still close," Gavin told him but didn't dare to turn around. His eyes were locked on Geoff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know but we have to act. The hatch changes places."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's a way out?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff nodded and Gavin stepped closer right as he managed to swing the lid open. Beneath was just darkness and Gavin couldn't help but shake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It looked like a nightmare and not the exit of one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff took his arm and Gavin looked up to him, wanting to ask him to keep real close, to not let him go in there alone but he could already tell that it would be useless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hatch might be magical but magic had its own rules and Gavin knew what the conditions of this one were. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just one of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You said together," he protested but Geoff cupped his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll search for you," he said and ignored how Gavin shook his head. The hatch would close after him, he knew that deep inside. Geoff wouldn't follow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I promise, Gavin. You just go home to your mom, okay? Tell her I said hi and then you can go back to school and show them how smart you are."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"My books are still in the room."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff snorted and leaned his forehead against Gavin's. He had his eyes closed but Gavin couldn't close his, had to watch him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cawing of the nurse was nearby, moving in on the loud noise of the hatch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Live, Gavin," Geoff whispered. "Live for both of us, okay?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin opened his mouth but the nurse appeared between two trees not too far away and he could just gasp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff didn’t even look at her, just got to his feet. It was rough as Geoff dragged him towards the hatch. Rougher than Geoff had ever touched him but Gavin’s eyes were on the coughing nurse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least until he stepped into nothing and quickly clung to Geoff's arm. "No!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff shushed him down but Gavin fought against his grip. It didn't change a thing, the other so much stronger as he pushed him inside the darkness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Geoff! No, Geoff!" he managed to bring out but then he was falling. Falling into the blackness and he could hear the metallic screech as the hatch closed and the screaming as the nurse moved.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then he was gone.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Geoff wasn’t here to protect him right now.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Epilogue</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin woke up staring at trees. He was laying on his back in the dirt and he hadn’t escaped, he was still there, he- </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then he realized he could see stars. There were stars above instead of just a moon. In Sally’s world there had been no stars. Turning his head, he couldn’t see the huge dome of the asylum.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Realizing that, he started to cry. There were big, hot tears that ran down his cheeks but they were quiet. He had to stay quiet just in case. Geoff wasn’t here to protect him right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Walking through the forest wasn’t as scary. He knew that before he had feared going in here even in bright daylight but after everything this was laughable. The darkness had covered him, had helped him hide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a while dawn broke. It had been so long since he had seen daylight and for a while he just stood there and felt. The light was wonderful and warm as it reached his skin. He looked terribly pale, he realized but he didn’t care.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After what felt like hours he reached the edge of the forest, he found a street and stared at it. The fact that it was there, that there was dew on the tarmac was such a strange concept to him, that he didn’t know how to react. A part of him wanted to step closer and touch it to make sure it was real but before he could get his legs to move, someone was calling him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a car now that hadn’t been there before. A man was standing in the open door and on the backseat were two young children staring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man asked him something and it took Gavin a while to find his voice. It took so long that the stranger had asked him a couple more times and when Gavin asked him where Geoff was, somehow the man got confused and thought his name was Geoff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin didn’t have the strength to correct him, he just sat down right where he was and held his head in his hands. The kids got out of the car, he could hear how they were asking questions but the man was on the phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe Gavin had dozed off because the next thing he knew he was surrounded by other people. A nice woman explained to him that they were doctors and would get him to the hospital. Her voice was a nice up and down and he liked to listen to it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She took his hand to lead him away. Just like Geoff had done and thinking back to Geoff made him so sad. He just held on tighter and the woman didn’t let go, even when they sat down in the ambulance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they reached the hospital though, she had to go away. He cried a little over that but she told him that he was brave and that made him feel a bit better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Later, when he laid in a bed after eating some soup, he could tell them his real name and then he asked after Geoff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Geoff had surely come out by now, right? He got the generator running and got out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin fell asleep and when he woke up his mom was crying. He also started crying and they hugged and she kissed his face and his bruised hands. Then he fell back asleep.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The police asked a lot of questions and it made his head hurt. He told them over and over again what had happened but they didn’t believe him. Stress, shock, a defense mechanism, they said. A fantasy to cope with what happened or something like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So when Gavin figured he wouldn’t get anywhere with the truth, he began to ask for Geoff. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He looked after me,” he told his mom who always sat by his side. “He protected me and he got me out. He said we would get out together but… but the hatch closed, I think. He couldn’t follow me but he will also flee soon, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure of it,” she told him and then she went to some police officer who was tall and talked in a really deep voice that intimidated Gavin. But his mom yelled at him, angry and loud, telling him to find this man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Later, he didn’t know how much later, his mom sat down and took his hand. She was holding a photo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Baby, that’s the only Geoff in this area here that’s missing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t his Geoff. The Geoff on the photo was a really old man, without any hair and Gavin pushed the photo away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know his last name, Gavvy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t. He had never asked and so he hid beneath his blanket to cry.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>A while later his mom introduced him to Mister Hodge. She explained to him that once a week he and this Mister Hodge would sit together to talk. He could talk about everything he wanted to, even the worst of the things that happened. He would help him remember everything correctly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin was pretty sure that he remembered everything correctly but then his mom brought in a christmas tree. It was a small one to stand on his bedside table in the hospital and he stared at it with wide eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had been missing for eight months and knew that it couldn’t be true.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sometimes he nearly believed that Mister Hodges was right. Mister Hodges was his psychiatrist and Gavin had to visit him each week even after he got home from the hospital. The visits often left him very tired and exhausted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mister Hodges said he had imagined everything because it was easier to pretend that it was a monster keeping them in that old building, than an actual human. That it seemed that this nurse was teleporting because it had been more than one person but his brain had stopped distinguishing between them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To protect him, Mister Hodges said. That was normal, Mister Hodges said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gavin nearly believed him until Mister Hodges offered that maybe that was the case for Geoff as well. A guardian angel, a friend, he had imagined when he needed one. Someone to talk to, who would protect him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just the thought alone enraged Gavin so much, that he screamed in the little room. Screamed and kicked his feet and threw things from the table. The room was soundproof or something like that but somehow his mom still heard him and rushed in. She brought him home and sat him down and comforted him. It took long and then she told him that it was just a theory, that it didn’t have to be right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t help because the thought that he was waiting for no one… that Geoff didn’t exist terrified him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He began to have nightmares, worse than before. Where he was alone in the forest and the asylum and there was no Geoff. Where the nurse, good ol’ Sally, was hunting him through dark corridors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He woke screaming while thrashing around. He began to wet his bed again which he hadn’t done since he’d been four years old.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But if Geoff had never existed, then there was no one who would protect him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On some days he sat in his bed and just watched through the window. On these days he didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to eat but sometimes he did anyway because it would make his mom smile and he loved her very much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She believed him.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t go to school anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Large crowds made him nervous because he saw her in the corner of his eyes. Saw her standing between friends he had before, knew that she was standing behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without Geoff, he wasn’t safe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Also the kids looked at him all strange. They whispered and some laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t like them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mom taught him and she told him he was smart. Geoff had done the same and Gavin still remembered some of his exercises.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wasn’t that proof enough?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe his kidnappers had left his books behind, Mister Hodges said. Maybe he had taught himself.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He was sitting on the couch, staring at the TV. Some show was running but sometimes it was hard to concentrate for him, so he stared at the bright colors on the screen and thought nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door rang, he guessed. At least his mom went by him to answer it. She had just collected laundry and had the wooden basket pressed to her hip to open the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It could be Miss Holly, who was their neighbor. Or a reporter. In the first year after Gavin had returned they had swarmed him like flies. They had talked so loud and fast and there was greed in their eyes. They had scared him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry for disturbing you, Ma’am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The voice cut through Gavin’s empty head and he turned around. Like this he couldn’t look outside because his mom was blocking the view. She never opened the door fully anymore because there had been some reporter who had just barged in to get a picture of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Those had been terrifying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How can I help you?” his mom asked but even though it was a polite question, she said it with a sharp voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My name is Geoffrey Ramsey,” the voice said and Gavin got to his feet to come closer. “But most people call me Geoff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So? What doe-” his mom began but then stopped. The door opened a bit further because she let go of the handle. The basket with the laundry fell from her other hand and now Gavin could see Geoff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked different. Clean and shaved and without scratches. It made him look younger even when he looked too thin, too tired, too haunted. He was holding Gavin’s bag up. His old school bag that was dirty and ripped apart but certainly his.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mom tried to say something, Gavin could see how her mouth opened but nothing came out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Gavin who called, “Geoff!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue eyes darted past his mother, found him and then Geoff opened his mouth as well. He also got nothing out because his knees buckled. His mom tried to steady him but by then Geoff was already on his knees, tears in his eyes and Gavin darted towards him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You got out,” Geoff sobbed as Gavin threw himself in his arms. “You got out, you got out, oh God. I prayed every second but I couldn’t find you. You were so far away and I- </span>
  <em>
    <span>God… ”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>His voice broke and Gavin was pulled tightly. It hurt and he could barely breathe but he clung to Geoff like his life depended on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She isn’t here,” Gavin told him. “The white lady isn’t here, Geoff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. God, I know!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re awake! We woke up! The nightmare is gone!”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The End</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A happy end :)</p><p>Thanks for reading! It was a lot of fun to revisit such an old story again!</p><p>My next story "The Yawning Grave" will go online on Friday. You can find more info here:<br/>https://kahnah23.tumblr.com/post/643306670974517248/new-story-the-yawning-grave</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A list of scrubbed stories by me can be found here:<br/>https://kahnah23.tumblr.com/post/641679826409930752/kahnah23-shoutout-to-miss-ingno-for-kicking-my</p><p>This story is part of the <a href="https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject">LLF Comment Project</a>, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:<br/>Feedback</p><ul>
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</p><p> </p><p>Note: If you don’t want a reply, for any reason, feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!</p><p>Besides that feel free to scream at me on my Tumblr:<br/>https://kahnah23.tumblr.com/</p></blockquote></div></div>
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